douglasnicholson327831

Recently there was articles about two 45-year-old Belgian deaf twins who found out that they were going blind. As a result, they both decided to end their lives by medically assisted suicide. Fortunately for them, they lived in Belgium, a country where euthanasia is legal. They said goodbye to their family and went into that eternal slumber that we all eventually face.I couldn't help but feel profoundly sad for these two men. One reason is that I simply don't think the life span of a deaf and blind person is worthless. Also because I don't think that people who are depressed should be allowed to end their lives. Psychiatrists might help both with therapy and medications, if necessary.The main reason I feel sad for these men is that I saw the movie, The Miracle Worker, about Helen Keller. She actually is famous worldwide as a female who was simply both deaf and blind who became an author, presenter and political activist, traveling around the globe. https://outgoingincome.com/forums/users/topbirth91/ If Helen Keller could make a life worth living, why couldn't both of these men?I find it hard to trust that challenging medical advances out there, they couldn't come up with a treatment for help their deafness or prevent them from going blind.I recently saw a movie about cochlear implants. The unit have allowed children who have been born deaf to hear and become section of the hearing world. However, in this movie, they did say that these implants aren't as successful in adults. The cochlear implant allows them to listen to but they don't necessarily understand what they're hearing so they still rely on lip-reading. Because children's brains are still developing, they are more likely to learn to understand and communicate such as a hearing person.Let's just assume these men looked into all of the medical likelihood of improving their eyesight and hearing, and there have been none. What options are left for them as deaf and blind people?The issue with cochlear implants and solutions for the deaf is that they assume you can see. After all, the deaf world is full of people who can see. Likewise, the blind community is full of people who can hear. Somebody who is both deaf and blind could have one foot straddling both communities. Yet they might not really be a full member of either world.I started to think about all the difficulties of a person who can neither see nor hear. I QUICKLY thought who am I to judge these men on their decision? After all, I am speaking from a position of privilege. I could see, although not as well as I used to manage to. I can hear, albeit with some hearing loss.What sort of life would someone deaf and blind live? What would a day in their life end up like? When I think about everything I do on a daily basis that a deaf and blind person would not manage to do, I realize why the twins felt so hopeless. But if Helen Keller read, wrote, graduated from Radcliffe College, and made her life worth living, why couldn't they?What would I do every day if I were within their shoes. These men wouldn't normally be able to work. They might not be self-sufficient and would probably be institutionalized or at least require a helper with them all or quite often. Their only potential for having any activity in their life would be should they learn Braille so they could read.I understand that being deaf and blind makes communication with the rest of the world difficult, but if you can read and write, there are ways of residing in touch with other people. I have no doubt that people would like to read their opinions and even read a book that they wrote about their life experiences and difficulties. In the end, when you think about difficulties they face, you realize how minor your own problems are.I do not think badly of the men for giving up on life, but I really do believe that they had other choices. They could have already been examples of two men who triumphed over two of the largest disadvantages in life. Ultimately, I am sad about the inspiration these men might have been to many people around the globe if they had chosen to continue living. After all, I believe among our biggest purposes in life is to inspire others. As long as you have the ability to think, speak and write, you can certainly do this. It's important for everyone to remember that.